The nightmare of tech layoffs 2024 has taken real shape. The mass layoffs started in the technology sector in 2020. First COVID-19 and now AI has continued to be the prime reason behind tech companies layoffs. Four years down the line, the company is continuing to lay off staff in the name of company restructuring or cutting the budget of the company.
According to Gartner, global IT spending raised 8% and crossed $5.1 trillion this year. Looking at this growth people were expecting increased job opportunities. However, the increasing layoffs represent an opposite picture.
Expected to be the year of recovery, 2024 continues to snatch jobs, especially from tech giants employees. Around 32,445 people have already lost their jobs this year. And over 191,000 employees had become part of mass job cuts in 2023. This number was approximately 50% more than the layoffs of 2022.
Let’s look at the complete timeline of the Tech layoffs 2024:
January Tech Layoffs 2024
- Rent the Runway
Rent the Runway is a 14-year-old company that has revolutionized the concept of rental fashion across the USA. In order to help the company break even and achieve profitability, on 9th January 2024, the company took part in tech layoff in USA, slashing 10% of its employees. This was around 37 people along with the chief operating officer who was serving for the last 11 years in the company.
- Twitch
Twitch is a live streaming platform specially made for streaming video games. On January 9th, 2024, it announced that it was cutting off around 35% of its employees, nearly 500 people.
Earlier, in 2023, the company laid off around 400 people as part of the mass layoff by the parent company, Amazon.
Mass layoff started in 2023 at Google. Since then, they have been doing small-scale staff cuts. At the beginning of 2024, more than 1,000 employees were laid off. This layoff will impact 10 employees out of around 250.
- Audible
Audible is one of the most famous audiobook and podcast apps that was founded by its parent company Amazon. On January 11, 2024, it became a prominent name in the tech layoffs 2024 as it waived off about 5% of its employees which accounts to around 100 employees.
- Discord
Discord is one of the most popular social messaging startups, having more than 500 Million users. Here, people can chat, do video calls, and even join servers to interact with big community gatherings. It is one of the most loved platforms by the gaming and developer community. This growing startup announced the tech layoff of 2024, taking away jobs from around 170 staff which is 17% of its headcount.
- WayFair
Wayfair, an e-commerce home goods retailer, also participated in a tech layoff in 2024. On January 11, 2024, it announced the sad news of laying off approximately 13% of its global workforce. After doing the math, we realized that it was around 1650 employees. This news came after a month of the company’s announcement that their employees have to work longer hours. Justifying this harsh move, the company said this is expected to save around $280 million annually.
- TikTok
Downsizing the company at the start of the year, TikTok, an entertainment platform, also became a part of tech layoffs 2024. In January 2022, the company announced laying off around 60 employees. These 60 employees were especially from the sales and advertising division.
- eBay
Following the steps of tech giants in tech layoffs 2024, eBay on 23rd January 2024, slashed approximately 1000 employees, accounting for around 9% of its full-time workforce. This was done despite the $1.3 billion profit reported in the last quarter as a step towards the company’s need for change.
- Microsoft
Microsoft also became a big name in the tech layoffs 2024, with around 1900 employees laid off at Activision Blizzard and Xbox. These job cuts that were announced on January 25, 2024, accounted for approximately 9% of Microsoft’s gaming divisions.
Further following suit, tech giant Microsoft, on January 25th, bid farewell to 1,900 video gaming staff members, accounting for about 9% of workers in the division, amidst the overarching trend of tech layoffs in 2024.
- Salesforce
Salesforce, a notable software company, joined the footsteps of the big tech names. And on January 26th, it parted ways with 700 workers. Also, this represented about 1% of its staff, in a move reflective of the industry’s current landscape.
- iRobot
Similarly, iRobot, a pioneering robotics company, initiated layoffs on January 29th. This affected 350 workers, amounting to approximately 31% of its staff.
- Block
It is a financial services company that, on January 30th, disclosed its decision to downsize the company’s workforce. In fact, Block laid off about 10% of its workforce, aligning with the broader trend of tech layoffs 2024.
- PayPal
Moreover, PayPal, a global online payment company, announced on the same day its plans to lay off 2,500 workers. This constituted about 9% of its staff, adding to the growing tally of tech layoffs 2024.
Reference:
Tech layoffs: 89% IT professionals in US worried about job loss in 2024
February Tech Layoffs 2024
- Zoom
As February started, Zoom, the most popular video conferencing company, made waves on February 1st by announcing the layoff of 150 staff members. This accounted for about 2% of its workforce, amidst the ongoing trend of tech layoffs 2024.
- Okta
Likewise, Okta, a prominent security software company, on the same day, disclosed its plans to lay off 400 workers. This represented about 7% of its staff, echoing the broader trend of tech layoffs in 2024.
- Cue Health
Cue Health, a notable biotech company, unveiled its decision to cut 245 workers. This accounted for roughly 30% of its staff, as part of the widespread tech layoffs in 2024. This was reported in a fierce biotech layoff tracker 2024.
- Drizly
Meanwhile, Drizly, the alcohol delivery app owned by Uber, delivered sad news on February 5th. The company announced its shutdown by the end of March. This left its entire staff of 168 employees jobless amidst the overarching trend of tech layoffs 2024.
- Snap
Snap, the parent company of Snapchat, on February 5th, announced the layoff of 500 workers. This constituted about 10% of its staff.
- DocuSign
DocuSign, an electronic-signature service, on February 6th, revealed its plans to cut 440 employees. This layoff was a part of the sales and marketing division, amounting to about 6% of its workforce. The move was part of its restructuring efforts amidst the ongoing wave of tech layoffs 2024.
- Amazon
Amazon, on February 6th, announced the layoff of 440 workers, contributing to the tech layoffs in 2024. .
- Getaround
Getaround, the online car-sharing service, on February 8th, made headlines by laying off 30% of its workforce. This showcased the widespread impact of tech layoffs 2024.
- Cisco
Lastly, Cisco, a networking hardware and software tech giant, on February 14th, disclosed plans to lay off 5% of its workforce, impacting more than 4,000 workers globally, as part of its restructuring strategy amid the overarching trend of tech layoffs in 2024.
- Toast
In February, Toast, a food delivery app, made a tough call on the 15th by announcing it would let go of 550 workers. This is about 10% of its team, by the end of the previous year. This move aims to make the company more efficient in managing its expenses, as mentioned in its 2023 financial report.
- Buzzfeed
Buzzfeed, a big player in digital media, had to restructure on February 21st, deciding to cut down 16% of its staff. This shift came alongside the sale of Complex Networks, a pop culture media startup, to Ntwrk, an e-commerce company.
- Expedia Group
Expedia Group, a major name in travel, shared on February 26th that it would be letting go of 1,500 employees, accounting for about 8% of its workforce.
- Bumble
Bumble, the popular dating app, faced tough times on February 27th, as it announced it would lay off about 350 workers. This is around 30% of its staff. This move was part of a larger restructuring plan.
- Sony Interactive Entertainment
Sony Interactive Entertainment, known for gaming, had to make cuts on February 27th, letting go of 900 employees, about 8% of its workforce, as part of operational restructuring.
- Electronic Arts
Electronic Arts, a renowned video game producer, shared on February 28th that it would be reducing its staff by cutting 670 positions, about 5% of its team.
March Tech Layoffs 2024
- Dell Technologies Inc
The second biggest tech layoffs 2024 was done by the well-known company Dell Technologies, known for its Laptops and electronic products. In March 2024, it laid off around 6000 employees. This was aimed to cut costs and reorganize the company.
- Synctera
Synctera is a Banking-as-a-service platform that allows financial startups to build, launch, and sell financial services such as bank accounts, debit cards, charge cards, lending, and more. Even though it planned a $18.6 million extension round to its $15 million Series A in 2023, showing the rising graph of the company. On 26th March 2024, it laid off 17 workers out of 113 employees. However, this tech layoff 2024 was justified by the company as the part of restructuring of the company.
- Stash
Stash is one of the most famous American Fintech companies that is used by around 6M Americans. It is a platform where people can invest in a range of investment options such as EFTs, stocks, etc. The company is known to have had many workforce cuts since the beginning of 2022 and it again made a significant contribution to tech layoffs 2024. On March 13, 2024, it laid off around 25% of its 80 people.
- Inscribe.ai
Inscribe.ai is one of the most efficient software intelligence tools that uses artificial intelligence to detect fraud. This concept is completely new in the market and people are getting aware slowly. However, on 8th March 2024, it made an announcement about laying off 40% of its employees.
- Meta
The tech giant, Meta is the God of social media platforms be it Instagram, Facebook, or Threads. As a part of a reorganization of Facebook Messenger, it laid off around 50 employees on March 6, 2024.
Even though this reorganization will generate employment on the one hand. The sadder truth is that it has taken away the daily meals of approx 50 people.
- Deadspin
It is a sports blogging company based in Chicago that was formerly owned by Gawker Media. On 3rd March 2024, laid off its complete workforce. This was because the company was sold to Lineup Publishing, a European digital media startup. On March 3
April Tech Layoffs 2024
- Amazon
Amazon, a well-known tech giant made a rising $574.78 B in revenue last year. However, they stayed on their mission of cutting off their employees by hundreds of employees. Most of the employees being laid off from Amazon are either from the sales, marketing, or global services organization or they are from the tech department of physical stores. This was one of the biggest tech layoffs of 2024, on April 3rd, 2024.
- ChowNow
ChowNow is an online food ordering platform based in America that believes in charging no commission or hidden fees. In 2023, it witnessed a peak in revenue generation as it achieved the mark of $42.0M. Even though the per-employee ratio became $101,205, it laid off 60% of its employees on March 28. This was considered to be 20% of its staff being slashed off. However, it was a part of changes and the company hired 30 workers.
In Brief:
Following the Layoff news trends of the last few years, This year has started with desperate growing unemployment and layoffs. The big tech giants like Amazon, Microsoft, Google, etc took part in the tech layoffs 2024, in order to restructure the organization or just to cut off the company’s expenses. The initial few months of 2024 have witnessed more than 32,445 employees lose their jobs, according to a Crunchbase layoff tracker.
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